MS Word

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

I'm not entirely sure howWord got such an apparently hideous reputation, as most of the things I see complained about aren't things I've had issues with.

Because it's a pig to work with if you were trained on using a text editor first and a format-for-printing program second; it drives me crazy to disable all the ways it will try to "fix" all my first drafts when I do not at that point care, for example, about the widows and orphans thing because I am likely going to be changing the text enough to alter that anyway.

[Nadeem6]

What programs do you all like if MS word isn't worthwhile.  And what format to editors prefer to have documents sent as?

[trboturtle]

I use Wordperfect, and have done so for years. Very rarely have problems with it.....

Craig

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

What programs do you all like if MS word isn't worthwhile.

I use emacs for handling text, novels and professional both.  Used to use Protext for a while, when I worked primarily in DOS.

  And what format to editors prefer to have documents sent as?

Editors i have dealt with want the damn thing printed out, and so long as the font and spacing and page numbering and headers and so forth are in the specified formats, sfaict could not care less what program you use to get it that way.

[meg_evonne]

Neither am I; as I mentioned upthread my issues with it have been pretty trivial. Maybe it's one of those "anything popular must be bad" things.

Same for me. The only problems I have is that it will do things that I don't know about, nor know how to use. Often I find myself doing something that takes forever while I mutter to myself, "I know it can do this, but I don't know how to make it do it!"  I love find function, replace function, and tracking. What I'd love to learn is how to compare two documents and have it show me the differences. I know it can do it, but...  Well, it just gives me a headache.  I'd also like to search out grammar errors; like click a button and have it scroll to them automatically. I'm sure it can do it, but I haven't figured out how.

I was thrilled to have discovered how to use page break, and there can't be anything easier to do. It only took me ten blankety-blank years to learn it. I'm old enough to automatically drop two spaces in after a period. Thankfully, I've worked my way out of it, but I was inordinately proud when I figured out that I could search for double blanks.

AND if you are sweet enough to try to teach me, don't go too far our of your way. I also can't seem to learn anything unless I stumble across it on my own. OTOH, if you know how to turn off the grammar underlining for contractions, such as I'm or they'd or hadn't, that would be freaking awesome.

[Nadeem6]

Thank you all for the responses, i appreciate them.  I will start looking into the software's suggested.

[Shecky]

I know Penguin uses Word in-house and with its freelancers.

[blgarver]

Hmm. I've never done anything that long in Word, so my knowledge comes second-hand. Its just what I've heard. I use Scrivener instead.

I've just discovered Scrivener!  I have always used Word.  I'm no expert at Word, but mostly I like it for writing prose.  I hate it for handling any kind of images, though.  People still try to do that, for some reason.

I'm intrigued by Scrivener's organizational focus, though.  I'm in the trial period right now, but I think I'm sold on it.  They'll have my money at the end of the trial period.

[Ren]

Going to have to give Scrivener a try....I'm 12 Chapters in and with a large cast and events plus my poor memory I'm floundering trying to keep organized...8P

[THE_ANGRY_GAMER]

Recently, I've found Scrivener slightly lacking as a word processor - I find I'm more creative and writing is easier when I'm using word. So I just write stuff in word and copy-paste into Scrivener. Seems to be working fine, and gives me a better idea of scene length and pacing than just using Scrivener.

[The Deposed King]

I've found with the free microsoft word 2007 that around 130k it says the document is too long and it stops red underlining misspelled words but that's the only thing I'm aware of.

I started out with Works Word Processor also by microsoft cause it wouldn't green underline all the things I was doing wrong.  Then as i got better switched over to word.  But I never would have improved using word.  Just a personal little tick i guess.



the Deposed King